Some Nights
by HaveBookWillTravel
Summary: Some nights I stay up, cashing in my bad luck; some nights I call it a draw...What's a son of Hephaestus to do when he's just doomed the most important quest to date and is experiencing a bad case of Heroic BSOD? Why, get a daughter of Aphrodite give you a swift smack in the face, of course! Some swear words, some Leo angst, and some MoA spoilers. This is not a song fic.


**A/N: **Well, I hit a rough spot in my writing...I've got writer's block like nobody's business, and I can't seem to get any good work done on my other stories. So I decided to do this as a mental exercise and hopefully get the creative juices flowing again. Truth be told, I've never tried to do a one-shot before, so it's good for me anyway, and I've always wanted to write a story with the main emphasis being on Leo, one of my favorite characters in the _Heroes of Olympus_ series, so this is what I came up with.

This fanfiction would not have happened were it not for the plethora of wonderful stories by _LadyRiverWolf_, who is a fantabulous author, as well as _The Celestial Cavalry_ by _Fullmetal Wetback,_ for without whom I would have never even thought to writhe anything about Leo and Piper...although FW's fic is a lot more...ah, crack-like than LRW's (the main character is Pot-head!Deified!Percy, which should tell you all you need to know about it). So...yeah.

**Pairings: **Leo/Piper (if you squint, turn your head seven degrees counter-clockwise, and look at something else)

**Warnings: **Spoilers for _The Mark of Athena_, a few swear words, an F-bomb at the very end, and a fair amount of angst-ridden!Leo. You have been suitably warned.

**Disclaimer: **If I had a nickel for everything I didn't own (including Rick Riordan's intellectual property), I'd have a whole ass-ton of nickels.

**Some Nights...**

"You should be asleep."

The quiet, reproachful voice startled Leo out of the trance he'd been in for the past few minutes...or was it hours? He turned his tired eyes to the source and realized that he shouldn't have been surprised to meet kaleidoscope eyes that seemed to glow in the dark as Piper stood at his shoulder, inspecting him worriedly.

It had been a common occurrence during the early days building the _Argo II_ for Piper to head to Bunker 9 after a meal and find Leo still working, drawing plans or fitting together a new capacitor or thrust modulator, having forgotten the time and ignored his body's protestations for food and rest, to bring him a few slices of pizza or a sandwich to tide him over. A few times, he'd gotten so bad that she'd forced him to sleep with her charmspeaking abilities, but he didn't hold it against her; in fact, he welcomed it because he knew that he was too stubborn to do it himself, and she was a good enough friend to know that about him.

Leo managed a sleepy grin as he made a few adjustments to their course. "No time for sleep, Princess Charming, gotta get the team to the big game in time, or else the world as we know it gets disqualified from the championships." He chuckled dryly. "Just call me the Soccer-Mom."

Instead of rolling her eyes or smiling in exasperation (as she usually did when he cracked a dumb joke), Piper frowned. "And then how will you help us get the Doors closed when you're burned out from staying awake for two days sailing us there? How are you going to help save Percy and Annabeth?"

That sent a pang of bone-deep guilt stabbing through Leo. It was his fault, of course (when was it ever _not?_), that the lovebirds weren't with them now, that they were somewhere in the pit of unending doom known as Tartarus. He honestly hadn't thought he could screw up worse than when he'd killed his mother, but then he'd gone and gotten two of the seven champions of Olympus condemned to the Greek version of Hell without a solid way to get them back. If they failed...

Well, he didn't want to think about that outcome, because then it wouldn't really matter anymore, would it?

So instead he had focused all of his energy the past couple of days on getting all of them to Epirus and the Doors of Death as fast as the _Argo II _could go, relenting only to work on upgrading the trireme with all the scrolls old Archimedes was kind enough to leave for him and the wily old inventor's sphere's marvelous technology. At least they would be ready for the impending Battle of Doom that was sure to follow.

Sleep? That was for people who didn't have the fate of the world hanging in their grease-stained hands, or the others, who were conserving their strength for the fight.

"I'm not gonna be any help, Beauty Queen," Leo told Piper with a shrug. "I'm just the chauffeur."

"You're more than that," Piper argued with a vehemence that surprised Leo. "Much more. You're one of our strongest fighters. You battled a goddess, _a goddess_! And you were beating the _snot_ out of her before she was forced to retreat! Plus, we're going to need your mind in the battle, too. I know you can come up with some strategies that even Annabeth would be hard-pressed to match."

"Strong?" Leo scoffed, his smile becoming slightly forced. "I'm not strong. That fight with Khione? Haven't you ever played Pokémon, Pipes? Fire beats Ice...I just had luck and a type-advantage against Frosty the Snow Bitch. I doubt I'll have the upper hand against any of the monsters guarding the Doors, and I'm afraid my luck ran out a long time ago. As for strategy, well...you know that my strategy's to run as fast and as far away from the bad guys as possible. Always has been, always will be. Can't get hurt by what doesn't catch me."

This was also the reason he shied away from any sorts of emotional bonds, but Piper had somehow got her hooks into him back in Wilderness School.

"Stop doing that, Leo," Piper muttered, and his eyes moved from the display which monitored the various changes in wind speed and direction to the depths of her soulful ones. "Stop selling yourself so short. Is your self-image so bad that you don't see what you truly are?"

"No, I don't," Leo grunted, "so enlighten me, Pipes. Because most of the time, I sure as hell don't know what I am, or what I'm even doing here." He paused, unsure if he should spill his emotions like that, but he was tired, and this was Piper after all. If he couldn't tell her, then who? Jason? The thought almost made him laugh, picturing himself and Jason having this conversation. Great friend he might be, Jason didn't seem like the type of person to give good personal advice, especially since he seemed to be going through some rough spots himself.

"Sometimes, I wonder if this is all worth it, in the end," he admitted quietly, setting his gaze to the dark horizon. "I mean, considering we actually pull a Hail Mary from our one-yard line in the fourth quarter and win this thing...when the dust settles and it all goes back to normal, I don't have anything to go back to. Jason's got all his Camp Jupiter pals, Percy's got his mom, Annabeth's got her dad, heck, even Hazel and the Canadian Chinaman-child have got each other. You've got your dad and all the great stuff that comes with it. Me? A few estranged family members who hate my guts and think I'm the Anti-Christ." He chuckled humorlessly.

"You've got me, too," Piper added softly, and Leo looked over at her, an eyebrow raised.

"Even if I mess up again?" he asked challengingly. "By all rights, everyone should hate me right now. I never should have used that stupid cookie; I was lazy, and I panicked...I could have figured out the codes, I know I could have, then Percy and Annabeth wouldn't have gotten a one-way ticket to Tartarus. Everything I touch, everyone I care about...they all burn or break. I'm bad luck, Piper. My Aunt Rosa knew it, all those foster homes knew it, if I'm being honest with myself I've always-"

_CRACK!_

Leo's cradled the red, stinging flesh of his cheek, staring gobsmacked at Piper, who's hand was raised and poised to deliver another common-sense-infused bitch slap of doom.

Piper glared at him a second longer, her eyes shifting from crimson to gold to a dark, cloudy gray before settling on dull blue as she set her hands on her hips in a scolding manner. "Don't give me that stupid look, Valdez. We were friends before this stupid demigod junk came up, we've been friends all through some of the craziest situations imaginable, and we're going to remain friends until one of us kicks the bucket. And you know what? Once the other follows along, we'll be friends in Elysium afterward. And if you do something stupid enough to get yourself sent to the Fields of Punishment, which I have no doubt in my mind is possible, then I'll have to beat the crap out of anyone who gets in my way and drag you back out, even if I have to punch out Hades himself."

Leo was still gaping at her open-mouthed when she closed the distance between them and pulled him into a tight embrace, her chocolatey hair brushing against the same cheek she'd just struck. "And there's not a damn thing that can change that fact, Leo," she mumbled, her warm breath tickling his neck while he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her. "Nothing at all."

Slowly, his tense muscles relaxed (somewhat), and he touched his forehead to her shoulder tentatively. He wasn't prone to receive very many hugs since his mother's death...not that he blamed anyone for not wanting to hug him, and as his defenses crumbled, he realized he'd just been hit with an Armor-Piercing Embrace even while he fought the tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm scared, Pipes," he whispered, his grip tightening.

He heard a bit of amusement in her tone when she answered, "We all are, Leo...it'd be stupid not to be, going up against odds like the ones stacked against us."

"No, you don't understand," he persisted, moving back so that he could see her face, but she still kept a firm hold on him, something which confused him. "I...I'm afraid-well, terrified really-that maybe you're right, that I might be a bigger part of this prophecy than I thought, and that in the moment when everyone's counting on me, I'm not gonna be enough...that I don't stack up to my role. I'm not Percy, or Jason, or even Frank."

"No, you're not," Piper agreed, interrupting him and setting her head in the crook of his neck. "You're Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, and the first fire-user in centuries. You tamed the untameable bronze dragon, gave it wings, and you kept Festus together longer than anyone else could. You gave him a last hurrah, and I think that counts to him more than you think," she said, gesturing at the dragon head at the prow, who blew a short burst of flame, as if acknowledging her words. "You defeated the snow goddess, Leo, and despite what you say, that's still an insanely incredible accomplishment. Think about that, Leo, you handed Khione's ass to her on a burning platter while taking out _werewolves and Earthborn _along the way!"

She finally let go of him, taking a few steps back and waving her arms around. "And you designed and built the _Argo II_, which has proven again and again that it's the most spankin' hot war machine in history." This made him smile, even if only a small one. "I wish you could see what I do when I look at you," she continued sadly. "I feel so proud that I'm able to count you as my best friend. You've got a good heart, you're loyal and brave, kind and smart, charming and..." She trailed off with a slight flush, but picked her thread of conversation back up and pressed on. "And I know when your moment comes, you're going to shine, you'll meet the expectations and shatter them, and we'll save Percy and Annabeth and beat the snot out of old Dirt Face."

The small smile had slowly become a full-on grin, a bubble of happiness rising steadily in Leo's chest that was growing so quickly, he wouldn't be surprised if he started levitating over the deck. "Yeah," he added, "and then we can all go to Disneyland to celebrate! Your dad's treat, of course..."

She laughed, and Leo laughed with her, suddenly elated despite how utterly wiped-out he still felt. Maybe he shouldn't count himself so unlucky because Tyche had surely been smiling on him the day he'd met Piper McLean. And when the day came to face Gaea, he would make sure to do his friend proud and meet his Fate without fear...okay, maybe a little fear, but that's natural, isn't it?

"And if he gets his undies in a bunch, we can always sic Coach Hedge on him," she replied, moving past him as she hit a few buttons on the dub-step board, grasping the Wii controller and hitting the under-trigger before setting it back down. "There, let the auto-pilot take the reins for a bit and get some sleep."

Leo allowed Piper to lead him by the arm back to his cabin, and he stopped, leaning against the door as he allowed the exhaustion to slowly take hold of his brain. "Goodnight, Piper, and...y'know...thanks and stuff."

Piper gave him one of her million-drachma smiles and said, "Everyone could use a confidence boost every once in a while. I'm just glad I could help. And...if you need to talk, I'm always around, Leo."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, then Piper leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck, planting a soft kiss on the slightly-colored mark on his cheek from when she'd smacked him, the disappeared down the hallway with a quiet, "Sleep tight, Repair Boy," floating after her.

Leo stayed there for a good few minutes before opening the door and getting into bed, mind no longer as tired as it had been. Though he figured that the Mist still hadn't cleared out of Piper's memories, his own recollections from Wilderness School had returned to him during those rare times of rest while working on the _Argo II_, as well as old feelings. While he knew Piper had never felt the same way, he'd slowly developed a crush on the beautiful Cherokee tomboy, and he wouldn't ever be sure, but he liked to think that he might've had a shot with her eventually.

But then along came Jason, and his budding chances had been shot down with an ICBM. Not that he blamed Jason, of course; the son of Jupiter was just as much a victim in that equation as Leo and Piper (_thanks, Tia Callida_, he thought bitterly), and the two boys _were_ best buddies after all. He didn't blame Piper either, for making the obvious choice between the two. Hell, even _Leo_ wouldn't have picked himself if it was a contest between them: _hm, son of the king of the gods, or son of the butt-ugly, crippled blacksmith? Tall, blonde, and handsome Jason or short, greasy, hit-every-branch-on-the-way-down-the-Ugly-Tree Leo...What to choose, what to choose?_

Tonight, though...well, he didn't want to hope for anything because everyone knew 'hope' was a four-letter word, but he couldn't help but wonder if his odds were so long after all.

For the first time in a long time, Leo managed to get a wonderful night's sleep, dreams of kaleidoscope eyes and warm embraces skittering through his mind. One thought stayed with him when he awoke the following morning, refreshed and ready for whatever the Fates threw their way, and it was almost as though Percy was calling up to him from Tartarus.

_The odds are long, Leo..._

_The odds are long, life's a bitch, and death's no better. But you know what? Fuck the odds._

**After-Action Report: **While not necessarily a song-fic, this _was_ inspired by, and shares the same title of, the song _Some Nights_ by the band F.U.N. My sisters introduced me to it one day, and while I was listening, I realized that it sorta fit with Leo's inner thoughts during _The Lost Hero _and_ The Mark of Athena_, especially his feelings of inadequacy.

And when I take into consideration the whole back-story between Leo and Piper, the only demigods to befriend one another _before_ they knew they were demigods, it makes sense to me that Leo might have had some unrequited feelings for the Beauty Queen, especially given the fact that he's prone to intense and instant infatuation with basically every single pretty face he meets (Khione, Thalia, Echo, the nature spirits, etc.). But once Hera and her Mist-manipulation brought Jason into the picture...well, refer to the books, I suppose.

But despite all of the crazy stuff going on around them, I've no doubt in my mind that Piper would stick with Leo, something that bothers me in a lot of fics regarding everyone's favorite Latino demigod in which the Seven of Prophecy sort of forget about Leo...the Head Councilor of Cabin 10 wouldn't _allow_ that to happen, I think, and besides, it's not in any of the others' natures to do that to Leo, despite the fact that he can majorly get on the nerves sometimes.

Anyway, please review, because I'd like to see how I did with my first one-shot. Flames are welcome, because it is only through the heat of adversity can true skill be tempered and honed to perfection...or something.


End file.
